Simple Complications
by Carrro
Summary: SPOILER S7!First she's told that the man she loves is dead...and then that he's alive. Yelina doesn't know what's going on but she's going to help Horatio.My take on Yelina and her feelings in 701-including the honest conversation H&Y never had in 701 H/Y
1. Part 1: Never Again

A/N: Wow, how great it feels to finally have got some inspiration back! So, this story was written after several H/Y fanvids on youtube which simply made me miss the HY a lot... Well, this is a two-shot and it's HY all the way! I must say that when I first watched Resurrection, I was very disappointed of how little HY there was, and how very unemotional Horatio was when he talked to Yelina. I definitely wanted more emotion, less case-related talk and more feelings-related talk. What can i say? I'm a Horatio/Yelina shipper =P

**I don't own CSI: Miami or any of its characters. (As you know...)**

* * *

**Part I: Never again**

The small road leading to the place where he had asked her to meet him was bumpy and very small, surrounded by high bushes and small trees. She had to drive slowly, yet every part of her yearned to just step on the accelerator and speed towards the lake and… and _him._ She felt her heart beat hard in her chest and she took a deep, shivering breath.

_He is alive, _she thought, hardly able to believe it.

--

Frank Tripp had not sounded sad or devastated on the phone when he had called her. He had just expressed pure shock and confusion. Horatio… _gone_… The thought might've been difficult for Frank to accept and must have come as a shock, but to Yelina… Her brain shut off.

She couldn't say a word to Frank, couldn't take in what she had just been told. She just stood there; her cell phone pressed to her ear and not saying anything. What could she say? Then, it was as if her brain started working again, and she found herself giving Frank a short reply, and heard him telling her what had happened. Horatio… shot. She talked mechanically, barely aware of what she was saying while her thoughts seemed to have completely stopped. There was nothing. She hung up and looked around, it was like waking from a dream: She was standing in the middle of her living room, it was afternoon, and the sun shone brightly through the open window. Slowly, she sat down on the sofa.

It all hit her at once. Her brain started processing what she just had been told, and as she sank down into the sofa there was an almost inaudible gasp.

Horatio was gone. Dead. Never again would she hear his voice, see his face, touch his hand, watch him smile… Never again.

She pressed her hand to her mouth hard, her moist eyes staring at nothing. She bent forwards, trying to reduce the horrible pain inside of her. Her brain shut out all the sights, smells and sounds, shut out everything except herself. The only sound was the loudness of her heartbeat. She saw nothing. She smelled nothing. It felt like she was suffocating… slowly. She couldn't breathe, she kept on gasping for air, but although air kept filling her lungs, it didn't seem to help. She was suffocating, slowly drowning.

Horatio Caine was gone. First Raymond… Now Horatio. It couldn't be true… It couldn't be… couldn't…

_No._

The earlier blurred visions started to clear up and Yelina started to make out the contours of the living room. All of it slowly started to come back, she saw the light from the window, felt the cool wind blowing through the window. The sound of the loud beating heart was still filling her ears and another gasp left her lips. She wanted to cry. She wanted to cry so desperately, wanted to yell out her sorrow, wanted to fall apart. But no tears came. There was no cry of sorrow. There was just… nothing.

_Horatio was gone._

She lay down on the sofa, her eyes staring at the high, white ceiling. Time passed by quickly, slowly, she didn't know. Time was not a part of her anymore. There was a bird chirping somewhere outside the window. It was a happy melody. Yelina closed her eyes, didn't want to hear, didn't want to feel. There was nothing, she was _so_ _empty_. It was the same feeling like when you feel so sick that you want to throw up so badly, but just _can't._ She wanted to cry so badly, wanted to do anything to just get rid of the pain. But there were no tears. There was no voice to scream with. The venom of sorrow was spreading through her veins fast, slowly breaking all of her defences and breaking her down fully. And she could not get rid of the _endless pain_.

Suddenly there came a ringing sound from the cell phone on the floor. She had no memory whatsoever of how it had ended up there, but the sound reminded her of the rest of the world. Slowly, as if she was dying herself, she sat up and stared at the phone by her feet.

She gave out a loud cry and all of the sudden there were tears. She couldn't control herself, suddenly there were more tears than ever before, and she gasped for air as she slowly bent down and grabbed the cell phone. With tears running down her cheeks, she stared at the name upon the screen.

_Horatio._

She was lost, it was too much. She just kept crying, hearing her phone ring and staring at it as she tried to understand.

When she finally answered the phone, she feared what she would hear at the other end. "Yelina Salas," she said, her voice surprisingly strong despite the tears that still were running down her cheeks.

"Yelina."

She stopped breathing. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be… There was no way… It couldn't be true. Yet it was his voice on the phone, his voice sounding so desperate, his voice saying her name. She gasped and tried to take a deep breath to calm herself. The tears kept running down her cheeks silently as she spoke fast, "Horatio, you're-"

"Yelina, there's little time," the voice of Horatio Caine interrupted. _Could it be him?_ "I need to talk to you, I need your help."

Her voice was strong now, serious; there was no trace of weakness or shock anymore. "Where?"

"You remember the small lake where-"

"I know," Yelina interrupted. The tears wouldn't stop, she didn't understand. There was so much that she didn't understand… But Horatio said there was little time, and she had to help him. "When?"

"I'm there now. Call Ryan Wolfe, he'll explain, I can't tell you more now."

"I'm coming," she replied and hung up.

She didn't understand how any of this was possible, how Horatio could possibly be alive, when Frank said that Ryan himself had seen the body that… _Ryan_. She had to call Ryan. She hurried from the sofa, and searched through her contacts until she found the co-worker from so long ago. She had no idea of why she still had his number, but didn't give this much thought. She had to call Ryan. Had to get an explanation. Had to help Horatio.

--

When the small lake slowly started to appear behind the bushes, she couldn't help but smile. He was here somewhere. She parked the car; the road ended there and she couldn't get any closer by car. She didn't think of what she was doing as she automatically got out of the car and locked it and started to walk towards the lake. The thickness of the vegetation started to reduce and she saw more and more of the lake.

And then, all of a sudden, there he was. 50 yards from her stood the Lieutenant next to his Hummer. Her brother-in-law. He wasn't looking at her, didn't seem to have noticed her yet, his gaze lost over the water. She smiled a big, honest smile, feeling more relief than she ever had in her life. Never before had she been so happy to see her brother-in-law, even if she was so mad at him after what Ryan Wolfe had told her. Even if she absolutely _hated_ him right now, she couldn't help but feel nothing but happiness after seeing Horatio over there. He was alive, and that was all that mattered right now. Everything else would have to wait.

She was close to him now, could even read the expression upon his face. The expression was relaxed, peaceful, but she knew him better than that. His body was tense, she could see it. His hands were upon his hips in his usual pose, his sunglasses on as always. When she was less than ten yards from him, he finally noticed her. He tilted his head slightly and looked sideways at her, as she walked the last few yards until she was next to him.

Despite everything that had happened, the Lieutenant smiled a little when Yelina stopped next to him and spoke calmly. "Horatio."

"Back from the dead," he replied, without meeting her eyes. Slowly he took off his sunglasses.

The amount happiness she felt diminished slightly, and a mixture of anger and happiness filled her mind. Happiness took over for the moment. _He was alive after all._ "Frank Tripp called," she said seriously. "Said you were gone… I didn't wanna believe him." It had been close her voice had broken. But it hadn't. To her irritation, she felt tears threatening to leak from her eyes. _No._

"Yelina, the only thing that matters right now is that Ron Saris believes it."

She froze. She couldn't believe it. _After what she had just gone through._ She looked down at the ground for a second, hesitating. "Right…"

_No,_ she decided. _I'll have to wait till later. He said there was little time. We'll have time for that later._

"With you gone, he drops his guard and…" She took a deep breath. _No tears._ "walks into your trap," she finished.

"That's my plan," he confirmed in a deep voice.

She looked down at the suitcase on the ground to hide the sadness on her face. "Is that the cash for Saris?"

"It's the money."

"What if he asks where it comes from?"

"You'll convince him you're a foreign entity looking to buy."

"Military perhaps?"

"Perhaps… but with the ten million as incentive you won't have a problem."

Yelina looked blankly at him, trying to hide her disappointment and sadness. She couldn't believe she had expected anything but mere facts about the case. He would have no time to talk about anything but the case until all of this was over. She'd just have to accept that. "When I meet with him," she said slowly and took a step forwards, "where will you be?"

"I'll be close by…" for a swift second, she was sure he was about to say something more, but then it seemed like he changed his mind. "Yelina, be careful." He ended the conversation with that and walked back to his Hummer. After closing the door he looked back at her through the window. The sunglasses were on again, and she couldn't interpret the expression upon his face from the distance.

Not much later, he was gone.

Yelina felt sick, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she was going to meet a murderer all alone sometime soon. _Apparently Horatio's 'death' hadn't changed a thing._ The same detached distance was still there.

Yelina felt no happiness anymore as she turned around and started to walk back to her car. She felt no relief anymore. It was only disappointment and sorrow filling her mind and soul now.

* * *

A/N 2: Hmm, so, this was basically what happened in Resurrection... Part Two will be the conversation I would've wanted to see somewhere in the end of the episode. A conversation in which Horatio and Yelina speak openly. I hope you enjoyed the first part! Feel free to leave me a review.

~Carro


	2. Part 2: Opening Up

A/N: It's so great to post chapters again.. I must say, this second part and the way it ended took me by surprise. But to me, as I wrote it, it seemed kind of natural. Up to you guys to decide what you think.. Anyways, thanks for reviews for part one, and i hope you'll enjoy this part too. Here's the second part of my two-shot.

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own a thing.

* * *

**Part II: Opening up**

Yelina Salas was back in her home, unsure what she had really been doing since she had come home, several hours ago. Her mind was spinning and she just walked around absently. Ray Junior had come home about two hours ago, dropping off his school stuff and saying 'hey' before heading off to his girlfriend. He hadn't even noticed anything was wrong with his mother and left only ten minutes later. She was alone again. The phone call she received from Ryan thirty minutes ago had calmed her down and made her pacing slower, but it had also made her boil with anger once again. Why was it Ryan, and not Horatio, calling and telling her that Horatio was alright? Why wasn't Horatio in her home now, explaining everything, giving her a chance to talk openly with him? She kept on pacing in the kitchen, glancing out through the window without being aware of it every minute to look for any trace of her brother-in-law.

She stopped the pacing after a while and leaned against the wall. What was she really expecting? What had made her so foolishly expect that Horatio would come home to her now? Why would he? He knew she was fine, he had no duty as a brother-in-law to check on her when he knew she was okay. He had loads to do after the shocking turn the search for Saris had taken.

She sighed, still leaning against the wall, and looked down at the floor. It was foolish of her to expect any of that. He was too busy for her.

With another sigh she walked to the cupboards over the sink, took a pair of plates and started to lay the table. Ray was bound to come home within an hour and she hadn't even started with dinner yet. Absently she started preparing dinner, hardly aware of what she was cooking. The sound of the doorbell interrupted her chopping of the onions and she glanced towards the hall. She put the knife down on the sink and went to open the door.

Even after hours of pacing and waiting for the man, she could hardly believe what she was seeing when she opened the door to find Horatio on the doorstep. He was holding his sunglasses with both his hands, and looking at her sideways, a small smile upon his lips.

"Hey," he said softly, still smiling. Those eyes of his, the deep blue eyes which used to be dark with deep sorrow, actually seemed to hold less sorrow than she was used to. He almost looked happy and also a bit shy from the look upon his face.

"Horatio," she said, surprised. "Hi."

"I uh…" The lieutenant hesitated, glanced down at his sunglasses.

_Oh, those bloody sunglasses._

"Would you like to come in?" Yelina asked slowly, although she had no idea why she actually was inviting the man in. She should slam the door in his face.

He smiled slightly again and looked up at her. "Thanks."

The two of them walked into the kitchen and Yelina made a half-hearted gesture towards the table, inviting Horatio to sit down. He remained standing and studied Yelina in silence. Yelina looked out through the window awkwardly for a second.

The moment Horatio opened his mouth to speak, she looked back at him. "It was good to see you earlier today, Yelina," he said quietly. "It's been a long time."

"Yeah, it has," she said coolly, crossing her arms on her chest.

Horatio seemed much taken aback by the way she treated him and froze for a second. He glanced over her shoulder and at the food by the stove. A smile crossed his lips for a second, "Spaghetti Bolognese," he observed, smiling slightly.

Yelina wanted to kick herself. The Lieutenant's favourite. "Maybe you'd like to have dinner with Ray and me? Ray would be very glad." She turned to the stove and started chopping the onions again.

Horatio seemed unsure what to answer. For the first time in Yelina didn't know how long, she had actually made the Lieutenant uncertain of what to say next. But it wasn't for the same reason as it used to be.

"Yelina, I know I've not been a very good brother-in-law and uncle these last-"

Yelina spun around to face Horatio hastily, her eyes glowing. "Not been a good brother-in-law? Not been a good uncle?! Horatio, you've not been around for _months._ You've not said a word in _months._ I mean, I can face it if you don't talk to me… But Ray…" she paused in pure frustration, shaking her head, her voice filled disappointment. "Horatio, Ray might be getting older, but you've always meant a lot to him. And all of a sudden-"

"Yelina, I'm-"

"No, wait, I'm not finished, Horatio," Yelina said fiercely. She was standing with her hands in the sides, looking angrier than Horatio ever had seen her. "You all of a sudden have a _son_ and of course, there's no real explanation! You just don't talk to me, you never seem to do! It's just superficial discussions, never the truth, never what you really think… And then there's the ex-lover, and-"

"Yelina, I'm sorry," Horatio interrupted, looking at her with a horrified face. "I know I have a lot to explain…"

"And today I get a phone call," Yelina continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Today, Frank Tripp calls me and tell me you're _dead!_" She was close to screaming now. "You have _no idea_ what it was like, Horatio! You have no idea."

"Yelina, I called you, I-"

"HOW THE HELL could you fake your own death and let me believe you were dead?!" She was screaming, pointing a finger at Horatio. She couldn't stop herself now, not once she had started. Years of the suppressed anger had reached the surface, and all she could think of was getting it all off her chest. "You're no better than your brother, Horatio! Ray and you are just the same! _How could you do that to me?!_" She was crying now, but didn't even seem to notice the tears.

"I couldn't tell any-"

"Horatio, you know as well as I do that you could've said something! If you had tried, if you had…" she shook her head as tears once again were flooding up in her eyes. She couldn't stop them anymore. The anger, the disappointment, the sorrow... It was all coming now, at the same time. "If you had tried, you would have realised that there were ways to let me know about your plan." Yelina paused, trying to hold back the new tears threatening to leave her eyes. Horatio remained rooted to the spot. "And then you let me walk around here for hours without telling me what's going on, and then you let _Ryan Wolfe_ call me! You couldn't even take time to call me and tell me you were alright by yourself! I helped you, even though I was _so mad_ at you! I couldn't stop myself from helping you, because I was so happy that you were _alive._ And you couldn't even call me and say that you were okay… And after all of this, you come to my house and tell me that it was good to see me again." She gave him a withering stare, unable to believe she had said all of that to him.

"Yelina, I…"

She considered her option of just turning around and continuing with dinner, but decided to keep looking at Horatio instead. She knew everything would be so much easier for him if she turned around. On the other hand, she really wasn't interesting in hearing what he was about to say. Because what was there to say, really?

"I never meant to hurt you, Yelina," Horatio whispered. "I know I've been very bad at showing that, but…" The Lieutenant shook his head, desperately searching for something to say. It was torture to stand in front of the woman he loved so much, hear her speak the plain truth and not be able to do anything. What could he say that would make things right? "I have a lot to explain, but please… listen to me."

She looked at him with an unchanged face, and took a few steps closer to him. Her voice was calm and under control, but she didn't entirely manage to hide the emotion behind the words. "If you honestly believe that your explanations will make any of the things you've done any better, then talk and I'll listen," she said quietly, taking another step towards him. They were so close now, she could smell him, and she could reach out and touch him. But she didn't.

The Lieutenant hesitated, seeming to fight an inner battle. He was looking at the floor and fingering his sunglasses, desperately searching for the words. Then he looked up at her, opening his mouth to speak. "Yelina… I've wanted to give you some space… After you got home from Brazil… It was all different. Ray was gone, once again, and… I didn't know what to do. I just figured that giving you space was the only right thing… and… I've wanted to come and see you so badly but… there has been so much… Kyle and Julia, both of them suddenly a part of my life. And all along, all I wanted was to see you and tell you…" He stopped and looked down, unable to finish the sentence. He glanced at her carefully, but her face challenged him to go on. "I have made many mistakes which I regret so badly," he continued carefully, but he could see in her face that she only wanted him to finish that sentence. "All along," he started quietly, "All along I just wanted to tell you how… how much I love you. And I want to do something about this, about us. I can't keep on having those… superficial discussions. I need to be honest with you now, Yelina."

Yelina's mouth was slightly open and she looked at the man in front of her with wide eyes. He had said it. After so many years, he had actually said it… But it didn't matter, she thought. _It was too late now._ "After all this time…" she started, but she couldn't finish the sentence. She didn't even know how to finish the sentence.

"After all this time, I'm telling you," Horatio finished it for her, nodding slowly. "I love you, Yelina, I do, and I've wanted to tell you for so long, but… It's been so…"

"Complicated," she agreed quietly. "I know, Horatio. But…" she stopped, hoping to find the words she needed. It was so hard to say what she was going to say. So much harder than she ever could have thought. She looked out through the window; the sun was starting to disappear behind the trees. A bird was chirping outside the window, and for a short moment, she wondered whether it was the same bird as the one that had sung earlier that day, when she had thought Horatio was dead. It seemed so long ago now, it already seemed like a distant memory… "I've shown you how I've felt for so long, and you've not said or done anything at all to show your feelings… Until now…" She paused and looked away from the window and back at Horatio. "But now…"

"But now…?" Horatio asked, and Yelina could hear the worry in her voice. _He was starting to understand._

"It's…" _There was no other option_.

Nothing else would be right, she thought, unable to look Horatio in the eyes. She gave a weary sigh, and looked down at her feet for a second. Then, with a deep breath, she looked up at him. "Too much has happened… Too much has kept us away from each other for too long. It has become too much, Horatio," she said quietly, tears starting to fill her eyes again. "It's too late," she whispered, shaking her head slowly. "It's too late now."

The Lieutenant didn't seem to be able to understand what she just had said. He looked at her, unable to say a word, unable to move. The sound of the front door being opened reached the two of them, but none of them moved.

"Hey mom, I'm home!" Raymond Junior called from the hall as he threw off his shoes and started to walk towards the kitchen. Neither Horatio nor Yelina moved; they remained right where they were, eyes locked with each other.

"Is that Horatio's car outside?" he asked as he started to reach the kitchen, but he found an answer for his question the same moment as he walked into the kitchen. "Uncle Horatio!" he burst with surprise, a smile suddenly upon his lips.

Slowly, Horatio started to turn around, but he didn't let his now sad eyes leave Yelina until they had to. He forced himself to give the teenager a half-hearted smile. "Hey Ray, how are you doing?"

"I'm great! Why haven't you visited? It's been so long!" the teenager said accusingly as he gave his uncle a hug. Before the redhead could reply, the teenager glanced towards the food Yelina only had started to cook. "You're staying for dinner?" Ray was smiling broadly.

Horatio didn't reply immediately, but first looked at Yelina.

She wasn't really listening, her hand held onto the back rest of one of the chairs, looking out through the window and biting her lip, doing her best to keep the tears threatening to leave her eyes from falling.

The Lieutenant looked down at his feet and then back at Ray, giving his nephew a low reply without quite being able to hide the sadness in his voice. "I'm afraid I'm not staying, Ray," he mumbled. "I have to get going."

The teenager could hear from the sound of his uncle's voice that nothing he said would change this, but he didn't quite register the sadness in Horatio's voice. "Alright," he said shrugged a bit. "But you'll have to promise to come back soon, uncle H. We've missed you."

"Yeah," the lieutenant replied with a glance at Yelina. "You're right, I've been gone for a long time… But I'm coming back, alright, buddy?" He forced another smile upon his lips. "I've missed you and I'm planning to do better than these past couple of months."

He meant this in more way than one. One way or another, he had to win back the heart of the woman he loved. Because without her, he'd be lost.

_FIN_


End file.
